The Smoke to the Fire
by valuablenicola
Summary: Merlin is sitting in the cells waiting to burn when the king visits him. Short oneshot set post Reveal, minor spoilers for 4 seasons.


_There is no smoke without a fire_

_What will happen next is something dire. . . _

It hadn't happened like he'd hoped. While he had wanted to calmly explain this all, it had happened in a mess of fire and blood. While he had wanted only his closest friends to know he had shown all of Camelot. He had wanted to be unveiled as the hero instead he was labeled the traitor. Now it was three days later and the council had reached a decision the sorcerer Merlin would be put to death. He wanted to shout at them he wasn't a sorcerer. He was a _warlock_ there was a difference. He sat in his cell, back against the wall as the king of Camelot made his way to stand outside his door for the first time in three days. Merlin didn't raise his head to look at Arthur but kept his gaze fixed on the floor counting the reeds of straw between him and the other wall. "How long have you practiced magic?" Arthur asked his voice thicker than he wanted it to be as he fought back the pain that was running him.

"For 22 years" Merlin responded.

"That's impossible you would have been a baby"

"That's exactly what I mean. I was born with magic, I am magic" Merlin snapped at the king the one he'd once called friend.

"That's – that's not possible" Arthur grasped the bars of the cell.

"It's possible, just quite rare. I've never met anyone like me." For the first time the warlock lifted his head to meet Arthur's eyes. "Makes you think doesn't it. How many people died for something that they couldn't do anything about?" He closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall. "How many people have you killed who had no more control over their magic than you did of being a prince?"

Arthur looked at his only friend as the young man rested against the wall, looking worn out like he had nothing to go on for. "Why?"

"Why what? Why did I save your life?" Merlin asked still keeping his eyes shut. Merlin took the silence as a yes and spoke in a soft voice. "Because that's my job, I have to protect the once and future king from all harm, and that's you by the way."

"I've heard the legend of the Once and Future King" Arthur said remembering the maidservant who had told it to him when he was young, he also remembered mentioning it to his father who had executed the young woman for speaking of magic. That must be proof of her use of magic in his father's mind. Arthur had almost forgotten about it in all the years that had passed. He thought now of the kind voice that had always sounded so peaceful and so hopeful when she spoke of what was to come.

"Well then you know who I am"

"You're not serious! You're supposed to be Emrys" Arthur cried laughing at his manservant. Merlin's eyes snapped up suddenly with a burning gaze that torn through Arthur. The king stopped laughing and swallowed at the intensity of the stare.

"Really? Kilgarrah was wrong then, strange that's never happened before, and all those druids, really quite odd. Because you really are the authority on magic aren't you Sire?" Arthur flinched he hated it when Merlin called him Sire. It just felt wrong. "Must be a mistake I'll have to tell them to get a new king" Merlin's sarcasm was getting ridiculous now.

"So you're Emrys. And you've been protecting me" Merlin nodded. "You can't even walk without tripping over_ Mer_lin"

The warlock in the cell raised an eyebrow. "Really because I seem to kill surprisingly well. Haven't you found it strange that every bandit that could have gotten you from behind has been mysteriously crushed by a tree branch or tripped over by roots? Isn't it odd that all those sorcerers that attack Camelot never manages to hurt you with all their spells and tricks that each and every one of them never even gets close enough to hurt anyone?"

"One did" Arthur had to contradict his servant. "Dragoon the great" Merlin snorted. "What?"

"Dragoon never hurt anyone. He got himself arrested so that Gwen was saved from Morgana's trap"

"What do you mean Morgana's trap?" Arthur was finding this entire conversation ridiculous.

"Gods above Arthur, you know feelings for Gwen are real, as are hers for you. So who would have reason to put a fake love potion under your pillow, maybe the same person who stumbled across you in the forest after telling you to go there in the first place? She wanted rid of Gwen. She must have had another vision of Gwen as Queen." Merlin spoke patronizingly.

"Dragoon killed my father!"

"I didn't!" Merlin shouted. "Morgana was behind that as well. She put a charm on Uther so that my healing spells were reversed. Were I anyone else he might have survived but I put too much into the spell for that. I was that close to breaking the spell but I didn't want to push the magic further, that much could have destroyed his mind."

"You're Dragoon" Arthur latched onto the slip that Merlin had made.

"You think? Were any other sorcerers going to step up to save Uther after all he did was kill our families. Was any other sorcerer going to lie to save Gwen? I wasn't going to let her die and I tried to save a man I hated because I didn't want to destroy you." Arthur looked at the boy in the cell seeing in his eyes the determination that fueled him.

"Why didn't you tell me about your magic?" Arthur asked quietly, the one question that terrified him most.

"Because I wasn't going to make you choose between friendship and duty."Merlin sounded as though this was the toughest thing he had ever said. "You were my best friend I couldn't do that to you."

"Did anyone else know?" Arthur asked not wanting to be the only one who had been left out. "The knights? Gwen?"

"No they didn't know" Merlin sounded sad. It wasn't a lie. None of the knights knew or Gwen. Lancelot had, and Will and Freya and Balinor all of them were dead. He wasn't going to turn Gaius in. He doubted Arthur would have done anything to the man who had helped raise him but he wasn't going to risk the old physician's life. "Now I have a question for you Arthur. If you had found out about this at another point, if I hadn't used magic in front of the entire court, what would you have done? Would I have been sitting in this cell if I had shown you in your chambers? I know it doesn't make any difference now. I will be executed tomorrow. But tell me. Would you have killed me if I had trusted you with the truth?" The King was silent for a very long time. "Arthur please tell me"

"You know things about me that no-one else knows. I trusted you with state secrets. I trusted you with _everything_. You were my friend. I wouldn't have killed you. But it makes no difference now. You're still going to die. I can't go against the whole council."

"I know." Merlin said simply. "Just please I want you to do something. Tomorrow don't look away. And don't hate me. Don't ever hate me. I gave up so much to keep you safe. The least you could do is watch what happens when you burn me. "Arthur nodded.

"Goodbye" Arthur said more pain in his voice than he wanted. He wanted to be strong. "I'll miss you"

Merlin smiled sadly. "May the old spirits guide you and their lights protect you. It's a blessing of my people"

The next morning the crowd gathered. This was a different group than normal. Before it had been those with nothing better to do, now the square filled with countless people. Servants from the castle who knew the kind boy who always offered to help out, merchants from the lower town who knew of the gentle servant who always asked a fair price. The families of those Merlin had come to when they were in need and helped without being asked and never took payment. The guards came for the simple man who had brought them food and drink on long nights guarding the walls. And the knights came for their friend the one who had brought them all together. The pyre was in the middle of the square piled high with wood. The young warlock was dragged out into the square. Well, dragged was the wrong word. He walked with his head held high his arms loose by his sides. The two guards who accompanied him looked incredibly reluctant to lay their hands on him.

Arthur read the charges against his friend in a steady voice as Gwen sobbed quietly in a scrap of material behind him. The king could feel rather than see the glares he was getting from the crowd, the knights in particular had grown protective of Merlin he had become a little brother to most of them and they didn't approve of what Arthur was doing. He knew they were too loyal to the code to do anything against him but he suspected that there was going to be a lot less merriment on their quests from now on. "The high council of Camelot finds the accused guilty of possession of magic." He nearly choked on the word guilty.

Merlin climbed the pyre without any help and stood there calmly as the hooded man tied his binds. He looked up into the sky and then down to his feet and his eyes flashed gold at once the pyre burst into flame. And he stood there quite serenely in the center of the blaze of light. It was then that a shadow fell across Camelot. "How dare you?" roared a voice that could shake down mountains. Out of the sky dropped a huge dragon it landed in the courtyard crushing a wagon but nothing else. "How dare you hurt my hatchling?" He glanced towards the flames where Merlin's bonds had burned away and the young warlock stepped away from the pole and walked to the edge of the flames.

He didn't seem at all bothered by the licking fire or the dragon in fact neither seemed to be affecting him at all, although he did look quite angry about something. "Hatchling?" He asked. "Since when have you called me hatchling?"

"It's getting boring calling you young warlock all the time."

"I suppose so old friend. Why are you here?"

"Some druids wanted to talk to Emrys and they stumbled upon me one thing led to another and I said I'd pass on the message. And then I sensed the distress of a great many people" He swung his head to look at the citizens of Camelot. "I came to see what was wrong and I see them burning my kin. Forgive me for being protective"

"We should go see what the druids want" Merlin strode straight out of the flames with a single burn on him. There were gasps from all around. He glanced back at them "what do you expect, I'm a dragonlord. If fire hurt me I think I'd have a bit of trouble with my own kind. "He walked right up to the dragon and with a slight glow of gold swung himself onto the dragon's back.

"May I point out young warlock I am not a horse?"

"That's _the_ dragon!" Arthur cried out suddenly, the dragon's head turned to face him. Hence Merlin ended up facing him.

"Hello again young Pendragon. I do hope you're not going to throw a spear at me again they are rather pointless."

With that the Great Dragon beat its wings extinguishing the flames from the unmanned pyre and took off into the sky. As they rose higher into the air, the citizens of Camelot could hear Merlin's laughter carried on the wind. The young sorcerer threw something into the air. Over Camelot a single radiant blue ball fell through the air and above the heads of the watchers burst into soft spots of light that glittered as they fell to Earth. "Awesome" several people including the knights laughed.

While further in the shadows some smiled and said "Emrys"

"Show off" muttered Arthur under his breath.

_Now there I told a lie_

_You didn't think I'd let him die?_


End file.
